Medieval Titans
by StopTalkingToMe
Summary: AU Richard Grayson-Wayne, son of the highest ranking knight in the kingdom of Gotham has been sent to investigate what appears to be a curse set on the capital town of their allied kingdom, Jump Village. In order to find the root of this curse, Richard must discover whether or not the creatures living in this bizarre kingdom can help him, or are causing it all.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Okay, so all of this was inspired by the cover art for this story. It is not mine, but it's so beautiful! I saw this on tumblr, and couldn't stop thinking about a possible AU until I actually wrote all of this down and posted it. The artists is gretlusky. If you like Teen Titans, you will love her posts. I posted a link to the original on my profile so you can go check her out. Okay, onto this chapter.

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The sun was rising as he sharpened his sword in his personal study. He normally would have been doing this in the extensive sparring room that was almost larger than the royal barracks. The room had been used for training for almost three generations before him, but his father had it reconstructed and expanded when he had found a small boy orphaned by an unfortunate accident.

Originally a member of a family of traveling entertainers, the boy had no great fortune or future to look forward to until a terrible accident had claimed the lives of both his mother and father in one fell swoop. With the headlining act of their traveling circus gone, the group did not have the resources to continue feeding the boy and left him in the kingdom that his parents had died in before moving on to try to find citizens with lower standards and heavier pockets. Bruce Wayne found him within a fortnight wandering the cobblestone streets and took him in as his own.

If not for the tragic events that had led him to these circumstances, one might have called him the luckiest boy in the kingdom. Sir Bruce Wayne was a man of noble birth, born to one of the richest families in the kingdom of Gotham. A rich man made richer by his lineage of knights, he was knighted by the King himself before his 25th birthday. However, such intense studies in the ways of combat and defense of the kingdom had come at a price—despite the number of maidens willing to throw themselves at him, Sir Bruce Wayne had never settled down long enough to provide himself an heir. Impressed after witnessing the boy steal a loaf of bread without the shopkeeper even knowing he had walked inside, Sir Bruce Wayne took him under his wing to guide him and develop his skills to their full potential.

Thus he had the sparring room expanded, his excessive manor restored, and obtained a contract with a serf whose family had served the Waynes before him to tutor and look after the child while he was away (Bruce had rid himself of all previous help after his own parents died and he became the sole proprietor of the entire estate). Building off of the boy's natural cunning, Bruce trained him in several forms of combat as well as the arts of stealth and scouting. Enrolling the boy in Gotham's youngest regimen before the age of ten, he advanced from Recruit to Page to Squire in just five years. While his additional training at home had by no means hurt him, no member of the King's guard could deny that the boy had natural talent. Now several years younger than any other member of his current unit, the boy was on track to become a knight before his 21st year.

Of course, he tried not to think about that as he sharpened his sword in his room. It would only further confuse him as to why he had received a royal summons to appear before the king himself. Even his father, the highest ranking knight in the kingdom—who had been called to throne room almost once every fortnight—could not devise for what purpose his son had been summoned.

His attempts at distracting himself from worries breeding in the back of his mind were only interrupted when his study door opened and a familiar hand was placed on his shoulder.

He glanced up with even a smile that looked tired from a lack of sleep the night before. "Yes Alfred?"

"Breakfast is ready Sir. It has been for nearly a half hour", the old man said gently.

"Of course, Alfred. I am sorry for my forgetfulness, it is just that I have been…"

"Distracted?" the old man offered.

"Yes. Very distracted" he decided, sheathing his sword and following his oldest friend down the stairs to the dinning room and sat down at the table with enough places for ten, but only set for two, as it had been for too many years.

As he ate with his father, it became very evident that even Sir Bruce Wayne himself did not know the exact details as to why the summons had come.

"Alfred and I will take you there in the carriage, but after that the royal guards will be the ones who escort you to see the King" he stated as he slowly dissected his crepe with a precision that made him so efficient with a sword. Conversation continued like this, with Bruce telling him every rule and detail to be followed when addressing the king (which they both already knew, but was Bruce's very convoluted way of showing that he wanted his son to succeed). After they finished eating, time seemed to slip through the prodigy's fingers as the next thing he knew he was telling his father and Alfred goodbye for who knows how long and exiting the carriage.

He steadied his hands on the hilt of his sword as he approached the throne room. It felt as though the paintings of rulers past that hung on the walls were judging his worth with every step he took. He consciously straighten his posture as he walked, trying to remain calm before the guards that escorted him. He ran all of the rules over in his head, trying to find an order in it that would reduce the thick panic growing in the back of his throat. When that didn't work, he recalled every detail of the discussion that he had had with his father that morning.

_Bow when he first enters and when he leaves, don't speak to him unless spoken, remember that while you are important to this kingdom's defense, he rules it…_etcetera, etcetera, until he was walking through open marble doors that spanned all the way to the ceiling, and suddenly he was standing in front of the throne.

"Your Highness" he said softly but as full as respect as he could before bowing.

"Ah, Sir Bruce Wayne's son. I have heard many great things of you" the elder man said through his brown goatee. The king's red robes draped down to the floor and perfectly complimented the large ruby that held the center spot on his crown. The teen bowed again for the compliment before the King made a gesture to the guards. The four guards that he had observed when entering the room all marched to the doors and in one swift motion the room had been emptied and sealed, leaving just the king and him.

He tried not to be startled by this as the king explained, "What we are about to discuss requires a certain level of privacy." He waited for the boy to nod in understanding before continuing.

"You understand that you are very unique, yes?" Again, he waited for a nod before continuing.

"The situation in which I have been presented is also very unique." There was a pause followed by more nodding. The teen worried that the king might think him mute if continued like this, but not enough to speak.

"An ally kingdom of Gotham has recently had a drought which has caused much despair and unhappiness. To make matters worse, this was followed by a freezing winter and a plague so nasty that it all but removed them from the land. These events by themselves would not be completely bizarre, tragic as them may be, but together, all within the span of a few months…"

"They suspect something from the arcane arts to be involved?"

"Exactly, my boy. As you may know, this kingdom has a much larger problem with magical beings, what with them being surrounding by the forest in which most of them dwell. And with their forces so greatly reduced from the recent catastrophe, they are in no shape to handle their current situation or even investigate why and how this has all happened. They have even gone so far as to ask for assistance. That is where you come in. I am sending you there to aid them in discovering how to remove this curse they seem to have before it destroys them completely", the king finished, reclining back down into his thrown and giving the young man time to digest all of this new information.

After a moment, he spoke. "It is an absolute honor to serve you your Highness, but might I be so bold in asking why?"

The king smiled at this. "Like I said, you are unique. While you are not as refined as your father yet, it has come to my attention that you are progressing faster than he was at your age, and you are the youngest by far in your unit, which is in itself advanced. I want to show our ally the best that I have, and I believe that you are exactly that."

Humbled, he bowed again and thanked the king profusely. The king nodded and then continued; "Now I understand that this will not be an easy task, and for that I am prepared to reward you greatly for your success. Once you have helped this kingdom and assisted in its revival, I am willing to knight you upon your arrival home."

There was more profuse thanking before the king quieted him again. "There is a carriage with supplies waiting to take you there. Do you, Richard Grayson-Wayne accept this responsibility?"

"I do your highness" Richard replied almost instantly, his voice completely sincere.

"Good" the king smiled, "I trust you will not disappoint me."

With that goodbye, two guards entered from a secondary entrance behind the throne and escorted him down a set of winding stairs to a carriage behind the castle. As Richard closed the door to the carriage behind him, he tried not to lose his composure over what he had just agreed to.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Sorry that this second chapter took a while. I usually try to update once a week but sometimes stuff happens and I can't. While I don't want to give anything away, this is not exclusively a Dick Grayson/Robin fic. Other characters from the titans will become very important very soon, I promise! Okay, enough rambling, I hope you enjoy.

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Trying not to over-analyze the situation became much harder as the carriage ride lengthened. Richard tried to clear his mind as the cobblestone of his kingdom gave way to dirt paths. Though the countryside's green hill rolled into each other almost hypnotically, his mind refused to reach a state of serenity. Every time he was about to start enjoying the scenery, the back of his head would start tugging on the memory of the king's request. After what must of have been two hours, Richard gave up his position next to the carriage window and with an elongated sigh, slid to its interior to rack his memory for any and all knowledge he had of mythical creatures.

What would have the potential to create such a curse? After making a mental list of what creatures had the abilities required, he came to the frustrating conclusion that nothing could be ruled out, as no being powerful enough to nearly cause the extinction of an entire kingdom would likely work alone. Something so magically capable and malicious was likely to have minions for their manual labor. They may have even cut deals with other creatures to aid them in decimating a kingdom.

These were nothing but theories of course. And Richard could neither confirm nor deny any of them! Even though he knew that the little knowledge he had could get him nowhere, his mind continued speculating as the horses pulled him further from his home and closer to this growing nightmare. The relentless hypothesizes only stopped as the carriage pulled to a stop at a small inn as the sun set. The chauffeur assured him that they were only stopping for the night because the horses had to rest, but Richard was grateful. Perhaps some much-need rest would do him good and quiet his mind. He was happily surprised when he drifted off nearly a minute after his head hit the pillow.

The next morning was better. After eating fresh laid eggs from the inn-keeper's chicken for breakfast and the horses were retrieved from the stable, they were off again to Jump Village. Richard focused on the landscape they were passing. He watched as through the clouds, the rising sun painted streaks of color against the grey tinted countryside. After the sun had risen, the grassy hills gave way to dry flat plains. The grass growing here was tall as his waist and reminded him of the wheat and grain that grew on the farming land of his own kingdom. He tried to picture home as vividly as he could. Richard had found its climate foreboding, as even though it did not rain excessively; clouds never seemed to fully leave the sky around Gotham, as even their brightest days in the summer were framed with grey clouds. These outlying clouds especially refused to bring rain, which made it seem to him as if they had no other purpose than to look sinister. He decided to try to appreciate the sunlight in this kingdom before he traveled back to Gotham.

By noon Richard's mind began to drift back to the thoughts of the kingdom awaiting him and how it had gotten into this circumstance. He tried to keep his mind otherwise occupied. He decided to distract his mind by committing the interior of the carriage to memory. The inside was carved out of dark mahogany, and based on how far Richard could slide his feet back, he could tell that the red velvet covered seat curved back into a C shape to allow more precious carry-on luggage for the elite passengers. He wondered how many times the carriage had actually been ridden in. The interior looked almost new, the lack of even minute fraying on the corners of the seats indicated that at the very least, the deep red velvet had been replaced within the last two months. Such comfort was not foreign to him, but he definitely knew how to live without luxury.

While his father was incredibly wealthy, Bruce had taken him out to the forest and shown him how to find and live on only the essentials. Once, his father had arranged for Alfred to blindfold them both and take them as far as a carriage could go into the wilderness, then walk them a mile deeper into it before leaving them to figure out how to return home. Bruce and Richard had spent the week surviving in the woods with nothing but the clothes on their backs before slowly making their way back to Gotham. Richard always suspected that Bruce had known exactly where they were the entire time, but had continued to feign ignorance until they had both figured out 'together' how to escape the intertwining brush. He looked back on the memory with a smile. While most children at that age would have found being forced into the woods for a week absolutely terrifying, Richard thought it was a nice bonding activity.

By the time the sun was setting, they had reached the outskirts of the kingdom. He tried to memorize it all as the carriage passed. Despite the fact that it was nearing the end of spring, the fields that they passed were dying or already barren. Instead of flowing golden wheat or lively green corn sprouts, nearly everything was a nasty shade of pale yellow. The ground itself was dry and cracking around the borders of the fields from a lack of water. He could imagine that if he were to walk into the field, the crackling husks of the dead plants would sound so intense under his feet that any passerby would think he was setting fire to the ground. If this had been how the famine was before winter struck, Richard could only imagine the size that their food reserves must have been to keep any portion of the population alive.

They slowly passed hut after hut with thatched roofs. While there were many small, single family dwellings, at the end of every grouping was a larger more equipped house. These larger homes seemed to be the only ones that were lit with candles from the inside. Due to the movement still visible inside and outside a few of the huts, this lead Richard to the conclusion that many of the poorer families had used up all of their candles and kindling trying to keep warm in the winter, and now did not have any money to buy more. This was most likely due to the fact that those living in the huts were low class farmhands, who no longer had any crops to tend to after the drought.

Richard tried not to let his heart reach out too far to these people. While he very much wanted to help them, he had little to no plan as to how he would find what had done this to them, or how he himself could stop it. He sighed as he knew that failure would result in not only disappointment from his king and father, but also most likely an end to this once prosperous kingdom. He definitely felt the weight that had been placed in his shoulders, but refused to let it hold him down. He decided that he would not leave Jump Village until he had done everything he possibly could for its people, no matter how long it took.

As he resolved this, the carriage stopped abruptly in front of the castle. Made completely of stone with high walls, Richard tried not to feel small as he was escorted by two guards in light green uniforms through the main hallway and to a room with a bed large enough for two, a bookshelf that spanned across one wall, a small study desk, and a dresser. The guards informed him that in the morning, after breakfast, the king of Jump Village had requested his presence in the throne room. After this, one of the guards advised him that it would be wise to sleep as soon as possible, and then they both promptly left him alone in his new room.

The bed was positioned in the center of the wall to the right of the doorway, its frame carved out of light oak with its four posts nearly touching the ceiling. The blanket and sheets on the bed were light green and white respectively, the same as the guards' uniforms. Richard wondered if those where the colors of the kingdom's flag. This question made him realize how little he knew about this kingdom's history. He decided to rise as early as possible to read the books provided for him to try to gain as much information on the territory as possible. Perhaps they could shed more light on the deep forest that surrounded the kingdom and the creatures that lived within it.

Richard changed into underclothes provided for him inside the oak dresser, blew out the candle on top of it, and slipped quietly under the covers of the bed. As he tried to relax enough for sleep to take him, he recalled that he was going to be meeting another king in an ambiguous meeting for the second time in three days. As he tried to decide if he should feel honored or terrified, the wear of traveling finally took its toll and he drifted into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Just for future reference—_italicized means it's in their head, to themselves._ I hope you guys like the length of this chapter. It took me twice as long to write it than it has taken for almost any other chapter that I have ever written I think. Does that count as improvement, or am I just getting longwinded? Okay, time for the actual chapter.

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Richard woke early as planned and started scanning the bookshelf for something that would shed light on anything about this kingdom. After searching through the first row of novels, he found what appeared to be an encyclopedia.

_Perfect._

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By the time someone came to wake him at sunrise, he had nearly finished the thick volume on Jump Village. Content with his research, he rose from the seat he had taken next to the oak desk and replied to the knock on his door. Someone Richard assumed by his clothes to be a servant waited outside the door. He appeared fairly young, with incredibly pale skin matched with sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. His build was lanky and slender, and the plain faded tunic and light brown fabric of his pants hung loosely from his frame.

This servant remained outside to remind him of his engagement with the king after breakfast, and then alerted him to the clothes he had been provided inside the dresser. Richard closed the door and quickly examined the contents of the dresser trying to decide what would be proper for meeting a king. He selected a light blue tunic with a white undershirt and loose trousers. They were comfortable enough and allowed for movement if the king were to ask for a display of skill.

Richard was escorted to the empty dinning hall by the servant, who explained that the hall was rarely used by the king himself, so was instead used for diplomatic guests and royal holiday feasts on occasion. Seeing as how he was the only current diplomatic guest, and the nearest occasion warranting a feast was probably months away, it seemed that Richard would be eating alone for his entire stay. The servant seated him none the less, left through an inconspicuous doorway to the side of the table, and quickly returned with a tray of warm light bread and a small serving of roasted fish.

The servant bowed but before he could quickly exit, Richard stopped him.

"If you don't mind my asking, why are you in such a hurry? I know very few are staying in the castle, and it is unlikely that anyone else is awake yet. How could you have so much work to do already today, to cause you to rush everywhere like that?"

The servant shifted uncomfortably on his feet when he met Richard's gaze before quickly focusing on the warrior's shoes, unaccustomed to the eye contact. "Well, Sir, I um..." he rung his hands as he talked. "Well, these have been trying times in the kingdom, for all of us you know, on the king too. Many of the servants got sick after the drought. Only me and a few others were able to keep healthy enough to work through the winter. Even though the plague is all but gone, very few were able to make it through and return to work in the castle. We've taken up shifts to try to ease the work on all of us, but right now, there are only two cooks in the kitchen at a time, and it's just me and a few others running about today."

Richard gave the man who could not be older than 25 a sad smile. "Well you and your friends must be doing an excellent job. From the looks I've had of the castle, I would have guessed a full staff had work here." Sure Richard hadn't exactly been given a tour of every hallway (in truth, he had only really walked down two), but the servant didn't need to know that.

The smile on the servant's face looked like one that hadn't been worn in a long time. "Thank you Sir. That means very much", he said before bowing and heading toward the door.

"What is your name?" Richard asked before he had reached the doorway. The servant looked back, surprised. This guest was incredibly kind he decided. Most preferred servants silent, only even remembered that they existed when they had something that needed done for them.

"My name is Henry, Sir."

"My name is Richard. It has been very nice meeting you Henry."

Henry smiled enough to show his teeth. "And you too, Sir Richard." He exited so promptly that he didn't see Richard smile back.

He spent the remaining time with his modest breakfast reviewing what he had learned from the volume in his room. Jump Village's flag was actually colored forest green, crimson, and gold, so he had been partially right about that. The kingdom was well known for its agriculture trade, a factor Richard suspected drove Gotham (a kingdom whose days were eternally cloudy and very often rainy) to form an alliance with it. However wonderful its variety of crops were though, Jump Village was better known for its proximity to the magic forest. While other, definitely not human beings could be found in very small groups in nearly every forest, Jump Village's surrounding forest was unique in that it seemed to be home to a miscellany of beings that ranged from Giants to Gnomes.

To say that the cultural aspect of the kingdom was altered by this was an understatement. There were local legends of Ogres eating travelers who ventured too far into their territory, Satyrs who wore long robes and head dressings to hide their hooves and horns to masquerade among the populace, and bedtime stories of Trolls who tricked disobedient children into getting lost in the forest forever. While there were some exceptions, the general consensus was that the beings from the forest ranged anywhere from mischievous to malevolent.

The people of the kingdom had a precarious peace with the creatures of the forest. Sometime in the recent past, it seems that they all came to the conclusion that if the humans stayed out of the forest, than the creatures would stay out of their kingdom. Because of this, anything wandering in the other's territory was labeled fair game. This further discouraged any exploration into the forest, which would explain the lack of information available on the details of it.

Shortly after Richard finished his breakfast, Henry returned to the dinning hall to escort him to the throne room. The walk was not long, and soon Richard found himself feeling again, small at the grandeur of a throne room. Though the doorway arch was almost as tall as the one in Gotham's castle, the doors themselves were carved out of light oak instead of marble. Henry stopped abruptly at the doorway, but Richard could see him mouth "good luck" before he bowed and briskly walked back down the hallway.

Richard took a deep breath before walking into the throne room. As he entered, he noticed the two guards standing attention at the base of the throne, as well as two more on either side of the entrance, all of them in the same forest green uniforms. Richard bowed after he approached the dark stone throne before looking up to examine the king.

The king was surprisingly thin for a ruler of a kingdom that normally based its economy on food. His golden brown hair was shoulder length, but parted away from his face by his golden crown, which had alternating jade and ruby gemstones etched all the way around it. He had a similarly crimson robe that almost touched the ground. The robe moved with him as he rose from his seat on the stone throne.

"Ah, the prodigy himself. It is a pleasure to meet you Richard." The mid-aged king wore a genuine smile.

Richard rose off of his knee. "I can assure you, the pleasure is all mine your highness."

"I hope you rested well last night. I know the carriage ride from here to Gotham can be taxing."

"I did, and the hospitality of your servant Henry especially helped me this morning."

The king paused and smiled again. "Oh? I have had little conversation with the servants, but I have come to understand that the ones still under my employ now are quite nice."

"Henry told me about the recent…decrease in the number of workers in the castle. I assume that the losses throughout the kingdom are similar, and I am sorry for your losses."

The king's lips pressed into a solemn straight line. "Yes. It has been a difficult time on my people." After a slight pause, his lips turned upward again before saying, "but that is why you are here. I have heard great thing about you Richard, and I expect nothing less" he finished with a wink.

"Absolutely your highness. You will get nothing short of my best" Richard said, bowing slightly.

The king smiled that genuine smile again. "I hoped for that. Now, since you will be serving my kingdom, I want you to be dressed accordingly." He snapped and a female servant walked in and quickly escorted Richard out of the throne room and back down another hallway until they entered what looked to be a sewing room. The servant, which he now guessed was the seamstress, then ushered him into a secondary dressing room. On the only table in the room, he found his new uniform and tried it on. He then walked up to a small elevated platform right in front of several small mirrors.

It was composed of a crimson tunic with forest green sleeves that stopped just before his elbows. The fabric of his pants was the same shade of green. He also found a recently made black leather belt with many pouches varying in size and a sheath for his sword. He slipped on equally new black leather boots that nearly went to his knees. Finally, he clasped a black hooded cloak around his neck, the interior of which was golden. It was just long enough to go past his knees. Even though he could tell that a thin layer of lightweight armor had been sewn into the fabric, it fit him almost perfectly and made every motion he made completely fluid. The seamstress then entered and busied herself with measurements before briefly adjusting his cloak. She was finally satisfied after giving him one final inspection, and then they were off again to the throne room.

The king sat up again at their arrival and gave the seamstress an approving nod before she bowed and disappeared into the hallway again.

"I am glad the uniform fits Richard. It appears my seamstress's predictions on your measurements were nearly perfect."

"They are your majesty. Might I ask why I have been so honored as to receive my own personal uniform?"

"Well, you are going to be going in much more dangerous places than any guards in this castle have likely been, and I thought it best that you be prepared—while still sporting the colors of the kingdom of course."

Richard took a moment to notice that he was practically wearing the flag (although from behind, the entire look was much more subdued because of the black cloak).

"My seamstress is already making duplicates for you, should this one be torn beyond repair", the king stated proudly.

"Thank you my liege. It is an honor to serve such a gracious and generous king."

"Wonderful! Let's get you all filled in, shall we?"

Richard was escorted with the king to his strategy room, and spent the next half hour with the king's main advisor, discussing everything they knew about the current situation (which honestly, wasn't much). The advisor had shown him a rudimentary map that they had of what the forest might look like on the inside, though it was mostly based on eyewitness accounts from terrified peasants who had entered the edges of the forest after one too many mugs of mead.

Richard, the king, and the advisor were trying to tell if they were actually holding the map upside-down when a brisk knock came at the door.

"Expecting visitors?" The king asked his advisor, before the man vigorously shook his head no and rushed to the door.

Upon opening it, he gave the guard on the other side a glare. "I specifically asked not to be disturbed. This better be important."

The guard looked winded, as if he had just sprinted all this way to tell them something. "You…asked to be…kept informed…on the…the" he said between breaths as he placed his hands on he knees, trying to breathe normally.

"Spit it out!" the advisor said impatiently, he cheeks reddening in embarrassment as the king looked skeptically at him from across the room.

"There's a prisoner!" the guard finally stated after standing back up straight.

"And…you waste my time to tell me there is a prisoner?" the advisor began to close the door.  
"Wait!" the guard shouted. With a huff, the advisor opened the door again. "You'll want to see this Sir. We caught it trespassing outside the forest. It's a Tamaranian Fairy."

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**A/N: **Guess who? Just kidding. It should be noted though that the uniform Richard is wearing is not at all the one he is wearing in the cover image for this fic. I thought this one would look more knight-like and also be more useful in battle.


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